What makes a big club? Manchester United finally top the table

Any number of factors can determine what makes a big club. Trophies won is the most determined measure, but in the modern day, the likes of social media presence and stadium attendance can also be used. Betway sought to find out what the fans believe makes up a big  using their Big Club Survey. 

Here, they asked football fans what they think makes up a big club, with 3500 football supporters responding to the survey. The criteria table was split into 10 different categories, with total silverware coming out on top. Match-going support, European pedigree, Worldwide support and total PL seasons makes up the top five in order, while recent silverware, transfer spend and stadium size also features. 

Each club that has every featured in the Premier League has been ranked by the 10 criteria with points earned for how highly they rank for each category, so if a team tops a certain criteria, they earn 20 points, while the 20th-placed side earns one point. Teams below 20th didn’t score. 

Betway then used their own formula to calculate a total score for each club to determine if they are the biggest club in English football, prioritising the importance of each category in the image above. 

As one might expect, the Premier League’s big six teams all occupy the top six spots in the Big Club League Table, but with a twist at the top. Tottenham’s lack of silverware, particularly in recent seasons, will have cost them higher than sixth in this table, yet even that didn’t make a difference for Premier League champions Manchester City, who sit just one spot above them. Pep Guardiola’s side, though, did top the recent silverware, recent PL seasons and transfer spend categories. 

Last season’s runners’ up Liverpool are again second, while Arsenal pip London rivals Chelsea to a podium spot. Rather, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Manchester United sit top of the Big Club League Table. United may have flattered to deceive in recent seasons, yet having scored maximum points in six of the 10 categories, including total silverware and match-going support, the two most important categories, it was little wonder they finished first. 

Having finished 57 points clear of Liverpool in second, the Reds are unlikely to knock their fierce rivals off their perch anytime soon. Crucially is that this isn’t Premier League inclusive, with fans finding that teams as far down as League One are still considered Big Clubs, meaning top-tier isn’t the be all and end all as far as prestige is concerned. 

Sunderland feature in 13th in the table as they enter their second season in League One, while Championship trio Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Leeds all make the cut, proving that past glories still mean plenty to supporters, despite Blackburn having not been in the Premier League since 2012, Leeds since 2004 and Forest since 1999, a whopping 20 years! 

Forest are also one of three teams, along with Watford and Brighton, to make the grade despite spending five years or fewer in the Premier League, with the latter scraping into 20th. The Seagulls ranked fourth for match-going support, the second most important category, with 153 of their 160 points coming from this criteria. 

The unfortunate trio to just miss out on the top 20 were West Brom, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday, who all finished within 30 points of the top 20, with Brighton looking nervously over their shoulder to finish 20th.